U.S. patent number 7,647,018 [Application Number 11/189,371] was granted by the patent office on 2010-01-12 for printing system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Xerox Corporation. Invention is credited to Vittorio Castelli, Joannes N. M. de Jong, Matthew Dondiego, Steven R. Moore, Lloyd A. Williams.
United States Patent |
7,647,018 |
Moore , et al. |
January 12, 2010 |
Printing system
Abstract
A printing system and method is provided. The printing system
includes one or more printing system modules, at least one media
sheet path interfacing the printing system modules, and a job
scheduler for executing one or more printing system print jobs. The
job scheduler routes a media sheet to one or more printing system
modules for preshrinking or preenlarging without marking and
subsequently routes the preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet to one
or more printing system modules for marking. The method of printing
includes generating a print job to be printed using one or more
printing system modules. Print jobs requiring two or more printing
system modules for marking are executed by routing a media sheet to
one or more printing system modules for preshrinking or
preenlarging without marking, and subsequently routing the
preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet to the one or more printing
modules for marking.
Inventors: |
Moore; Steven R. (Rochester,
NY), de Jong; Joannes N. M. (Hopewell Junction, NY),
Dondiego; Matthew (West Milford, NJ), Castelli; Vittorio
(Yorktown Heights, NY), Williams; Lloyd A. (Mahopac,
NY) |
Assignee: |
Xerox Corporation (Norwalk,
CT)
|
Family
ID: |
37693960 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/189,371 |
Filed: |
July 26, 2005 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20070024894 A1 |
Feb 1, 2007 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
399/390; 399/82;
399/68 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03G
15/50 (20130101); G03G 2215/00021 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G03G
15/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;358/1.1-1.16
;399/67,68,82,328,321,322,330,233,122,320,390 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
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Primary Examiner: Tieu; Benny Q
Assistant Examiner: Tzeng; Michael
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fay Sharpe LLP
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A printing system comprising: a first and second printing system
module, each module configured to mark and fuse an image on a media
sheet; at least one media sheet path interfacing the printing
system modules; and a job scheduler configured to execute one or
more printing system print jobs, the job scheduler configured to
execute computer instructions to perform a method comprising:
receiving a print job to be printed using at least one printing
system module; analyzing the image content of the print job and
determining if the print job requires a media sheet to be marked
with an image using two or more printing system modules or the
print job requires a media sheet to be marked with an image using
only one printing system module; for print jobs requiring two or
more printing system modules for marking, routing a media sheet to
a first printing system module for preshrinking without marking an
image on the media sheet, and subsequently routing the preshrunk
media sheet to a second printing system module for marking an image
on the media sheet; and for print jobs requiring only one printing
system module for marking an image on a media sheet, routing a
media sheet to one of the printing system modules for marking an
image on the media sheet.
2. The printing system of claim 1, the printing system further
comprising: a media sheet input and a media sheet output associated
with each printing system module; and the job scheduler configured
to execute a media sheet preshrinking process, the media sheet
preshrinking process routing a media sheet on the media sheet path
to the first printing system module media sheet input, the first
printing system module processing the media sheet to the first
printing system module media sheet output without marking an image
on the media sheet, and the media sheet preshrinking process
subsequently routing the media sheet from the first printing system
module output to the first printing system module media input, the
media sheet preshrinking process continuing to process the media
sheet through the first printing system module without marking an
image on the media sheet and routing the media sheet from the first
printing system module output to the first printing system module
input from about 1 to 10 times, wherein the media sheet shrinks
dimensionally in length and width during the media sheet
preshrinking process.
3. The printing system of claim 2, wherein the media sheet
preshrinking process continues to process the media sheet through
the first printing system module without marking an image on the
media sheet and routes the media sheet from the first printing
system module output to the first printing system module input from
about 1 to 5 times, wherein the media sheet shrinks dimensionally
in length and width during the media sheet preshrinking or
preenlarging process.
4. The printing system of claim 2, wherein the media sheet
preshrinking process continues to process the media sheet through
the first printing system module without marking an image on the
media sheet and routes the media sheet from the first printing
system module output to the first printing system module input from
about 1 to 2 times, wherein the media sheet shrinks dimensionally
in length and width during the media sheet preshrinking or
preenlarging process.
5. The printing system of claim 1, the printing system further
comprising: a black and white marking engine, and a color marking
engine.
6. The printing system of claim 1, the printing system modules
further comprising two or more of the following: a black and white
marking engine; a CMYK color marking engine; a custom color engine;
a MICR marking engine.
7. The printing system of claim 1, the printing system further
comprising: the first printing system module comprising a black and
white marking engine and a fuser; the second printing system module
comprising a CMYK color marking engine and fuser; a third printing
system module comprising a marking engine and a fuser or a fuser
without a marking engine; a media sheet input and a media sheet
output associated with each printing system module; and a media
sheet preshrink process, the media sheet preshrink process routing
a media sheet on the media sheet path to the third printing system
module media sheet input, the third printing system module
processing the media sheet to the third printing system module
media sheet output without marking an image on the media sheet, and
the media sheet preshrink process subsequently routing the media
sheet from the third printing system module output to the third
printing system module media input, the media sheet preshrink
process continuing to process the media sheet through the third
printing system module without marking and route the media sheet
from the third printing system module output to the third printing
system module input one or more times, wherein the media sheet
shrinks dimensionally in length and width from an increase in media
sheet temperature during the media sheet preshrink process.
8. The printing system of claim 7, further comprising: a print job
requiring black and white printing and color printing; a media
sheet, wherein the job scheduler executes the print job and the
media sheet is preshrunk by the media sheet preshrink process
utilizing the third printing system module, the media sheet
subsequently routed to the first printing system module for marking
a first image on the media sheet, and subsequently routing the
media sheet to the second printing system module for marking a
second image on the media sheet.
9. The printing system of claim 7, wherein the job scheduler
executes the print job and the media sheet is preshrunk by the
media sheet preshrink process utilizing the third printing system
module, the media sheet subsequently routed to the second printing
system module for marking a first image on the media sheet, and
subsequently routing the media sheet to the first printing system
module for marking a second image on the media sheet.
10. The printing system of claim 1, the printing system further
comprising: a print job requiring black and white printing and
color printing; a media sheet; a first printing system module
comprising a black and white marking engine and a fuser; a second
printing system module comprising a CMYK color marking engine and
fuser; a third printing system module comprising a marking engine
and a fuser or a fuser without a marking engine; a media sheet
input and a media sheet output associated with each printing system
module; a media sheet preshrink process, the media sheet preshrink
process routing a media sheet on the media sheet path to the third
printing system module media sheet input, the third printing system
module processing the media sheet to the third printing system
module media sheet output without marking an image on the media
sheet, and the media sheet subsequently routed from the third
printing system module output to the first printing system module
media input for black and white marking an image on the media sheet
and the media sheet subsequently routed to the second printing
system module for color marking an image on the media sheet, the
media sheet shrinking dimensionally in length and width from an
increase in media sheet temperature during each pass through the
third, first and second printing system modules, respectively.
11. The printing system of claim 1, the printing system further
comprising: a print job requiring black and white printing and
color printing; a media sheet; a first printing system module
comprising a black and white marking engine and a fuser; a second
printing system module comprising a color marking engine and fuser;
a third printing system module comprising a marking engine and a
fuser, or a fuser without a marking engine; a fourth printing
system module comprising a marking engine and a fuser, or a fuser
without a marking engine; a media sheet input and a media sheet
output associated with each printing system module; a media sheet
preshrink process, the media sheet preshrink process routing a
media sheet on the media sheet path to the third printing system
module media sheet input, the third printing system module
processing the media sheet to the third printing system module
media sheet output without marking an image on the media sheet, and
the media sheet subsequently routed from the third printing system
module output to the fourth printing system module media sheet
input, the fourth printing system module processing the media sheet
to the fourth printing system module media sheet output without
marking an image on the media sheet, the media sheet subsequently
routed from the third printing system module output to the first
printing system module media input for black and white marking an
image on the media sheet and the media sheet subsequently routed to
the second printing system module media input for color marking an
image on the media sheet, the media sheet shrinking dimensionally
in length and width from an increase in media sheet temperature
during each pass through the third, fourth, first and second
printing system modules, respectively.
12. A method of printing comprising; generating a print job to be
printed using at least one printing system module; analyzing the
image content of the print job and determining if the print job
requires a media sheet to be marked with an image using two or more
printing system modules or the print job requires a media sheet to
be marked using only one printing system module; for print jobs
requiring two or more printing system modules for marking, routing
a media sheet to a first printing system module for preshrinking
without marking an image on the media sheet, and subsequently
routing the preshrunk media sheet to a second other printing module
for marking an image on the media sheet; and for print jobs
requiring only one printing system module for marking an image on a
media sheet, routing a media sheet to one of the printing modules
for marking an image on the media sheet.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: for print jobs
requiring two or more printing system modules for media sheet
marking, determining which printing system modules are required to
be active to execute the media sheet marking, and allocating the
remaining printing system modules as available for nonprinting
passes for preshrinking of the media sheet before media sheet
marking; routing the media sheet to a first printing system module
available for nonprinting passes; routing the media sheet to a
first printing system module determined to be active; and routing
the media sheet to a second printing system module determined to be
active.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: for print jobs
requiring two or more printing system modules for media sheet
marking, determining which printing system modules are required to
be active to execute the media sheet marking, and allocating the
remaining printing system modules as available for nonprinting
passes for preshrinking of the media sheet before media sheet
marking; routing the media sheet to a first printing system module
available for nonprinting passes; routing the media sheet to a
second printing system module available for nonprinting passes;
routing the media sheet to a first printing system module
determined to be active; and routing the media sheet to a second
printing system module determined to be active.
15. The method of claim 12, further comprising: for print jobs
requiring two or more printing system modules for media sheet
marking, determining which printing system modules are required to
be active to execute the media sheet marking, and allocating the
remaining printing system modules as available for nonprinting
passes for preshrinking of the media sheet before media sheet
marking; routing the media sheet to a first printing system module
available for nonprinting passes; routing the media sheet to a
second printing system module available for nonprinting passes;
routing the media sheet to a third printing system module available
for nonprinting passes; routing the media sheet to a first printing
system module determined to be active; and routing the media sheet
to a second printing system module determined to be active.
16. A xerographic system comprising: a media sheet feeder module; a
plurality of horizontally and vertically integrated marking devices
for applying images to print media, the plurality of marking
devices comprising: a first printing system module comprising a
black and white marking engine and a fuser; a second printing
system module comprising a color marking engine and a fuser; and a
third printing system module comprising a marking engine and a
fuser, or a fuser without a marking engine; a media sheet input and
a media sheet output associated with each printing system module; a
finisher module; a media sheet path comprising: a lower highway
and/or an upper highway; a return highway, the highways integrated
with the plurality of integrated marking devices, the feeder
module, and the finisher module; a job scheduler for executing one
or more printing system print jobs, the job scheduler capable of
routing a media sheet to one or more printing system modules for
preshrinking without marking an image on a media sheet and
subsequently routing the preshrunk media sheet to one or more
printing system modules for marking; a print job requiring black
and white printing and color printing; a media sheet; a media sheet
preshrinking process, the media sheet preshrinking process routing
a media sheet from the sheet feeder module on the media sheet path
to the third printing system module media sheet input, the third
printing system module processing the media sheet to the third
printing system module media sheet output without marking an image
on the media sheet, and the media sheet subsequently routed from
the third printing system module output to the first printing
system module media input for black and white marking an image on
the media sheet and the media sheet subsequently routed to the
second printing system module for color marking an image on the
media sheet and routing to the finisher module, the media sheet
shrinking dimensionally in length and width during each pass
through the third, first and second printing system modules,
respectively.
17. The xerographic system of claim 16, further comprising: a
fourth printing system module comprising a marking engine and a
fuser, or a fuser without a marking engine, the fourth printing
system horizontally and/or vertically integrated with the plurality
of marking devices; and the media sheet preshrinking process
routing a media sheet from the sheet feeder module on the media
sheet path to the third printing system module media sheet input,
the third printing system module processing the media sheet to the
third printing system module media sheet output without marking an
image on the media sheet, and the media sheet subsequently routed
from the third printing system module output to the fourth printing
system module media sheet input, the fourth printing system module
processing the media sheet to the fourth printing system module
media sheet output without marking an image on the media sheet, and
the media sheet subsequently routed from the fourth printing system
module output to the first printing system module media input for
black and white marking an image on the media sheet, and the media
sheet subsequently routed to the second printing system module for
color marking an image on the media sheet and routing to the
finisher module, the media sheet shrinking dimensionally in length
and width during each pass through the third, fourth, first and
second printing system modules, respectively.
Description
BACKGROUND
The present disclosure relates to preshrinking and preenlarging of
sheets for improved image registration as applied to printing
systems. It finds particular application in conjunction with
overlay printing and integrated printing modules consisting of
several marking engines, each having the same or different printing
capabilities, and will be described with particular reference
thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present
disclosure is also amenable to other like applications.
Overlay printing is a printing method whereby a first marking
engine prints content on one side of a sheet, and then a second
marking engine with different capability prints complimentary
content on the same side. In fact, it is possible that monochrome
content, CMYK 4-color content, and custom color content could all
be desired on the same side of a sheet, such that a given sheet
passes through three different marking engines. When consecutively
marking a sheet using multiple marking engines, the need to
properly register the image content from the different marking
engines becomes a factor which affects the overall quality of the
printed sheet and ultimately customer satisfaction. The accuracy of
registering a sheet for subsequent making can be a function of many
systems, including but not limited to sheet control, sheet
dimension stability and/or predictability, marking engine control,
etc.
This disclosure relates to sheet dimension stability; specifically,
the shrinkage or enlargement of a media sheet as it passes through
a marking engine. As a sheet is passed through a first marking
engine for image marking, the sheet will shrink or enlarge and
thereby cause a second marking of the sheet to be misaligned. The
third marking of the sheet will also be misaligned as a function of
the amount the sheet shrinks or enlarges during the first and
second markings. As the sheet passes through subsequent marking
engines, additional sheet registration error will occur as a result
of the shrinkage or enlargement of the sheet through each marking
engine. Depending on the cumulative amount of shrinkage or
enlargement, the finished overlay printed sheet can have a
noticeable registration misalignment of images and create a lower
degree of customer satisfaction with the finished product. This
disclosure provides a way to compensate for the cumulative media
shrinkage or enlargement discussed heretofore by sending a sheet
initially through one or more non-printing cycles before commencing
one or marking operations.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS AND APPLICATIONS
The following applications, the disclosures of each being totally
incorporated herein by reference are mentioned:
U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/631,651, filed Nov. 30,
2004, entitled "TIGHTLY INTEGRATED PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE
MAKING USE OF COMBINED COLOR AND MONOCHROME ENGINES," by David G.
Anderson, et al.;
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,918, filed Nov.
30, 2004, entitled "PRINTING SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FOR
FINAL APPEARANCE AND PERMANENCE," by David G. Anderson et al.;
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,921, filed Nov.
30, 2004, entitled "PRINTING SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FOR
FINAL APPEARANCE AND PERMANENCE," by David G. Anderson et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/761,522, filed Jan. 21, 2004, entitled
"HIGH RATE PRINT MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL
PRINTING," by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/785,211, filed Feb. 24, 2004, entitled
"UNIVERSAL FLEXIBLE PLURAL PRINTER TO PLURAL FINISHER SHEET
INTEGRATION SYSTEM," by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/881,619, filed Jun. 30, 2004, entitled
"FLEXIBLE PAPER PATH USING MULTIDIRECTIONAL PATH MODULES," by
Daniel G. Bobrow.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/917,676, filed Aug. 13, 2004, entitled
"MULTIPLE OBJECT SOURCES CONTROLLED AND/OR SELECTED BASED ON A
COMMON SENSOR," by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/917,768, filed Aug. 13, 2004, entitled
"PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE CONSISTING OF CONTAINERIZED IMAGE
MARKING ENGINES AND MEDIA FEEDER MODULES," by Robert M. Lofthus, et
al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,106, filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEM WITH HORIZONTAL HIGHWAY AND SINGLE PASS DUPLEX,"
by Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,113, filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEM WITH INVERTER DISPOSED FOR MEDIA VELOCITY
BUFFERING AND REGISTRATION," by Joannes N. M. dejong, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,458, filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled
"PRINT SEQUENCE SCHEDULING FOR RELIABILITY," by Robert M. Lofthus,
et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,459, filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled
"PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE USING IMAGE MARKING ENGINE MODULES
(as amended)," by Barry P. Mandel, et al;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/933,556, filed Sep. 3, 2004, entitled
"SUBSTRATE INVERTER SYSTEMS AND METHODS," by Stan A. Spencer, et
al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/953,953, filed Sep. 29, 2004, entitled
"CUSTOMIZED SET POINT CONTROL FOR OUTPUT STABILITY IN A TIPP
ARCHITECTURE," by Charles A. Radulski et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/999,326, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled
"SEMI-AUTOMATIC IMAGE QUALITY ADJUSTMENT FOR MULTIPLE MARKING
ENGINE. SYSTEMS," by Robert E. Grace, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/999,450, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled
"ADDRESSABLE FUSING FOR AN INTEGRATED PRINTING SYSTEM," by Robert
M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,158, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled
"GLOSSING SYSTEM FOR USE IN A TIPP ARCHITECTURE," by Bryan J.
Roof;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,168, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled
"ADDRESSABLE FUSING AND HEATING METHODS AND APPARATUS," by David K.
Biegelsen, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,258, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled
"GLOSSING SYSTEM FOR USE IN A TIPP ARCHITECTURE," by Bryan J.
Roof;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/001,890, filed Dec. 2, 2004, entitled
"HIGH RATE PRINT MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL
PRINTING," by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/002,528, filed Dec. 2, 2004, entitled
"HIGH RATE PRINT MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL
PRINTING," by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/051,817, filed Feb. 4, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEMS," by Steven R. Moore, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/069,020, filed Feb. 28, 2004, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEMS," by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/070,681, filed Mar. 2, 2005, entitled
"GRAY BALANCE FOR A PRINTING SYSTEM OF MULTIPLE MARKING ENGINES,"
by R. Enrique Viturro, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/081,473, filed Mar. 16, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEM," by Steven R. Moore;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/084,280, filed Mar. 18, 2005, entitled
"SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MEASURING UNIFORMITY IN IMAGES," by Howard
Mizes;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/089,854, filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled
"SHEET REGISTRATION WITHIN A MEDIA INVERTER," by Robert A. Clark et
al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/090,498, filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled
"INVERTER WITH RETURN/BYPASS PAPER PATH," by Robert A. Clark;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/090,502, filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled
IMAGE QUALITY CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLE MARKING
ENGINE SYSTEMS," by Michael C. Mongeon;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/093,229, filed Mar. 29, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEM," by Paul C. Julien;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/095,872, filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEM," by Paul C. Julien;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/094,864, filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEM," by Jeremy C. dejong, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/095,378, filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled
"IMAGE ON PAPER REGISTRATION ALIGNMENT," by Steven R. Moore, et
al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/094,998, filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled
"PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE WITH PARALLEL HORIZONTAL PRINTING
MODULES," by Steven R. Moore, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,899, filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled
"SYNCHRONIZATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM," by Lara S. Crawford, et
al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,910, filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled
"COORDINATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM," by Lara S. Crawford, et
al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,355, filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled
"COMMUNICATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM," by Markus P. J. Fromherz,
et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,332, filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled
"ON-THE-FLY STATE SYNCHRONIZATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM," by
Haitham A. Hindi;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,558, filed Apr. 19, 2005, entitled
"SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REDUCING IMAGE REGISTRATION ERRORS," by
Michael R. Furst et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,566, filed Apr. 19, 2005, entitled
"MEDIA TRANSPORT SYSTEM," by Mandel et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,996, filed Apr. 20, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEMS," by Michael C. Mongeon et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/115,766, Filed Apr. 27, 2005, entitled
"IMAGE QUALITY ADJUSTMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM," by Robert E.
Grace;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/122,420, filed May 5, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEM AND SCHEDULING METHOD," by Austin L. Richards;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/136,821, filed May 25, 2005, entitled
"AUTOMATED PROMOTION OF MONOCHROME JOBS FOR HLC PRODUCTION
PRINTERS," by David C. Robinson;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/136,959, filed May 25, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING SYSTEMS", by Kristine A. German et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/137,634, filed May 25, 2005, "PRINTING
SYSTEM", by Robert M. Lofthus et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/137,251, filed May 25, 2005, entitled
"SCHEDULING SYSTEM", by Robert M. Lofthus et al.;
U.S. C-I-P application Ser. No. 11/137,273, filed May 25, 2005,
entitled "PRINTING SYSTEM", by David G. Anderson et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/143,818, filed Jun. 2, 2005, entitled
"INTER-SEPARATION DECORRELATOR", by Edul N. Dalal et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/146,665, filed Jun. 7, 2005, entitled
"LOW COST ADJUSTMENT METHOD FOR PRINTING SYSTEMS", by Michael C.
Mongeon;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/152,275, filed Jun. 14, 2005, entitled
"WARM-UP OF MULTIPLE INTEGRATED MARKING ENGINES", by Bryan J. Roof
et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/156,778, filed Jun. 20, 2005, entitled
"PRINTING PLATFORM", by Joseph A. Swift;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/157,598, filed Jun. 21, 2005, entitled
"METHOD OF ORDERING JOB QUEUE OF MARKING SYSTEMS", by Neil A.
Frankel; and
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof include a
printing system and method. In one aspect of the disclosure, a
printing system is provided including at least two printing system
modules; at least one media sheet path interfacing the printing
system modules; and a job scheduler for executing one or more
printing system print jobs, the job scheduler routing a media sheet
to one or more printing system modules for preshrinking or
preenlarging without marking and subsequently routing the preshrunk
or preenlarged media sheet to one or more printing system modules
for marking.
Another aspect includes a method of printing. The method includes
generating a print job to be printed using at one printing system
module, and analyzing the image content of the print job and
determining if the print job requires a media sheet to be marked
using two or more printing system modules or the print job requires
a media sheet to be marked using only one printing system module.
Print jobs requiring two or more printing system modules for
marking are executed by routing a media sheet to one or more
printing system modules for preshrinking or preenlarging without
marking, and subsequently routing the preshrunk or preenlarged
media sheet to the one or more printing modules for marking. Print
jobs requiring only one printing system module for marking, are
executed by routing a media sheet to a printing module for
marking.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes a xerographic system. The
xerographic system including a media sheet feeder module and a
plurality of horizontally and vertically integrated marking devices
for applying images to print media. The plurality of marking
engines includes a black and white marking engine, a color marking
engine, and a marking engine and/or a fuser without a marking
engine. A media sheet path includes a lower highway and/or an upper
highway, and a return highway. The highways are integrated with the
plurality of integrated marking devices, a feeder module, and a
finisher module. A job scheduler executes one or more printing
system print jobs, the job scheduler capable of routing a media
sheet to one or more printing system modules for preshrinking or
preenlarging without marking and subsequently routing the preshrunk
or preenlarged media sheet to one or more printing system modules
for marking. Print jobs having sheets requiring black and white
printing, and color printing include a media sheet preshrinking or
preenlarging process. The media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging
process routes a media sheet from the sheet feeder module to a
printing system module for processing the media sheet without
marking. Subsequently, the preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet is
routed to a printing system module for black and white marking. The
media sheet is subsequently routed to another printing system
module for color marking. After printing is completed the media
sheet is routed to the finisher module. As an alternative, the
media sheet can be routed to a color painting system module for
color marking, and subsequently to a black and white printing
module for black and white marking.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an illumination of a printing device used to acquire
media shrinkage data;
FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of media shrinkage data;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are graphical representations of media shrinkage
data;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are graphical representations of media shrinkage
data;
FIGS. 5A and 5B are graphical representations of media shrinkage
data;
FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary printing system
incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging
process;
FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary printing system
incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging
process;
FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary printing system
incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging
process;
FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary printing system
incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging process;
and
FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary printing
system incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging
process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Printing systems including multiple xerographic marking engines
have the ability to print images on one or two sides of a sheet
using multiple image marking engines. The process of overlay
printing is sensitive to the accurate registration of the media
sheet as it is marked by multiple image marking engines. A
significant factor affecting the media sheet registration, relative
to multiple marking engines, is the dimensional stability of the
media sheet as it is processed through the multiple image marking
engines.
The detailed description which follows describes a printing system
which preshrinks media sheets prior to subsequent image marking for
improved image registration. The exemplary embodiments described
relate to the media sheets that shrink as they pass through an
image marking engine or fuser. However, the exemplary embodiments
described are equally applicable to media sheets that enlarge as
they pass through an image marking engine or fuser.
With reference to FIG. 1, illustrated is a printing fixture 2 used
to determine the amount of media sheet shrinkage associated with
each pass of a sheet through a marking engine. As illustrated, the
printing fixture 2 includes a cyclical sheet path 4, this sheet
path including an initial sheet feed 6, a pressure roll 8, a
transfuse nip 10, a heated fuser roll 12 and a sheet path 14. FIG.
2, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B
graphically represent shrinkage data obtained from the print
fixture illustrated in FIG. 1.
To obtain media sheet shrinkage data, a paper sheet was fed into
the sheet feed 6 and routed through the transfuse nip 10. The
transfuse nip 10 includes a pressure roll 8 and a heated fuser roll
12. After passing through the transfuse nip 10, the paper sheet
traveled along the sheet path 4 indicated in FIG. 1 and was cycled
through the transfuse nip 10 a second time. This cycle was repeated
several times to obtain media sheet length and width dimensional
changes as a function of passes through the transfuse nip 10 at a
given temperature, pressure as applied by the pressure roll 8 and
process speed.
The graphical illustrations of media sheet shrinkage as a function
of transfuse nip passes establish that a majority of the cumulative
media shrinkage can be compensated by routing a media sheet
initially through one or more non-printing marking engines and
subsequently marking the media sheet with a plurality of marking
engines.
FIG. 2 illustrates very little change of the length 20 and width 22
dimensions of a paper sheet with a transfuse nip temperature of
25.degree. C. and transfuse pressure of 55 ps. However, as the
transfuse temperature is increased while maintaining a constant
transfuse nip pressure and process speed, the length and width
dimensions of the paper sheet decrease with each successive pass
through the transfuse nip. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B illustrate the
length and width dimensional changes, respectively, of paper sheets
30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48 with a transfuse nip
temperature of 80.degree. C. FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B illustrate the
dimensional length and width changes, respectively, of paper sheets
50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 6-6 and 68 with a transfuse nip
temperature of 100.degree. C. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B illustrate the
length and width dimensional changes, respectively, of paper sheets
70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, 86 and 88 with a transfuse nip
temperature of 125.degree. C.
In addition to the discussion heretofore, the graphs of FIG. 3A,
FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B illustrate after the
first 5-6 passes through the fuser nip, little or no subsequent
media sheet shrinkage occurs. This is most likely because the sheet
moisture content has reached its minimum steady state value given
the ambient relative humidity.
Referencing FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, approximately 80% of total media
sheet shrinkage occurs during the initial 1-2 passes through a
fusing system. Therefore, if the total shrinkage is approximately 1
mm, as illustrated in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, with multiple passes
through a fuser, 0.8 mm of shrinkage will occur during the media
sheets initial 1-2 passes or preshrinking process, and 0.2 mm will
be seen as a residual alignment error between various content
planes associated with the overlay marking after the preshrinking
process is completed. This 0.2 mm error has been determined to be
acceptable print quality.
Those of skill in the art will appreciate other combinations of
preshrinking process passes through the fusing nip of a
non-printing marking engine before routing the preshrunk media
sheet to a series of marking engines for overlay printing. The
greater the number of preshrinking passes through the fusing nip,
the smaller the amount of registration error during the subsequent
image marking processes because the dimensional stability of the
media sheet increase. However, the lesser the amount of
preshrinking passes through the fusing nip, the greater the process
efficiency of the overall printing system.
With reference to FIGS. 6-10, exemplary embodiments of the present
disclosure will be described. With reference to FIG. 6, illustrated
is a printing system including a media sheet feeder module 90, a
plurality of horizontally and vertically integrated marking devices
92, 94, 96, 98,100, and 102, a finisher module 104 and a media
sheet path including an upper highway 106, a lower highway 108 and
a return path 110. In addition, an input transport module 112 and
an output transport module 114 integrate the feeder module 90 and
finisher module 104, respectively, to the media sheet path
structure. The printing system is connected to a data source (not
shown) which provides print job data and controls the execution of
print jobs. In addition, a job scheduler module (not shown)
provides the necessary control to select which printing system
modules will be utilized for a particular print job.
To provide printing flexibility and overlay printing ability, the
exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6 includes color image marking engines
94 and 100, black and white image marking engines 92 and 98, a MICR
image marking engine 102 and a custom color image marking engine
96.
Referencing FIG. 7, a detailed method of operating the embodiment
of FIG. 6 is explained. FIG. 7 illustrates the flow chart of an
overlay printing job which includes black text and a custom color
logo. The initial print job data is transmitted to the printing
system by a network, pc, cd, or other computer readable medium or
device. The job scheduler analyzes the image content of the
incoming print job 120 to determine if multiple image marking
engines are required to complete the print job. In this example, a
black text document with custom color is detected 122 Subsequently,
the job scheduler schedules 124 and allocates 126 a black and white
text marking engine 92 and a custom color marking engine 96 to
perform the simplex overprint job 124. The job scheduler next
selects unused black text printing module K2 98 for preprinting or
preshrinking passes 128. It is to be understood that the job
scheduler could have selected any unused printing module, (i.e.,
image marking engine, fuser, etc.) to perform the preprinting pass.
After the job scheduler has allocated the proper printing modules
to complete the job, the media sheet feeder feeds the required
sheets into the printing system 130. Sheets are routed through the
input transport module to the lower highway 132 and routed to
printing module K2 98 media sheet input for preshrinking 134 within
printing module K2, which includes a fuser. After passing through
the fuser, the media object will be shrunk approximately 60% 134 of
the total shrinkage potential. Next, the media sheet is routed from
the media sheet output of printing module K2 along the lower
highway and re-circulated back along the return highway 136.
Subsequently, the media sheet is routed along the upper highway to
printing module K1 for black text printing 138. After the sheet
passes through the black text image marking engine K1, the sheet
will be shrunk approximately 80% of the total shrinkage potential.
Next, the sheet is routed through the custom color printing module
CC for logo printing 140. Total shrinkage of the media sheet is
approximately 90% of total shrinkage potential after printing has
been completed. In addition, the media sheet only shrinks
approximately 20% after the black text is marked on the sheet and a
subsequent custom color is marked on the sheet. The net effect of
this process is a reduction of mis-registration error relative to
the images printed on the media sheet. Subsequent to image marking
by printing module CC, the media sheet is routed to the output
transport module by the upper highway and from the output transport
module to the finisher module 142.
Referencing FIG. 8, another detailed method of operating the
embodiment of FIG. 6 will be explained. FIG. 8 illustrates the flow
chart of an overlay printing job which includes black text and a
custom color logo. The initial print job data is transmitted to the
printing system by a network, pc, cd, or other computer readable
medium or device. The job scheduler analyzes the image content of
the incoming print job 150 to determine if multiple image marking
engines are required to complete the print job. In this example, a
black text document with custom color is detected 152.
Subsequently, the job scheduler schedules 154 and allocates a black
text marking engine K1 and a custom color marking engine CC 156 to
perform the simplex overlay print job. The job scheduler next
selects unused printing modules K2 and C2 for preprinting or
preshrinking passes 158. It is to be understood that the job
scheduler can select any unused printing module (i.e., image
marking engine, fuser, etc.) to perform the preprinting passes.
After the job scheduler has allocated the proper printing modules
to complete the job, the media sheet feeder feeds the required
sheets into the printing system 160. Sheets are routed through the
input transport module to the lower highway 162 which routes the
media sheets to printing modules K2 and C2, respectively, for
preprinting passes 164. After the media sheet has passed through
the fuser of printing module K2 and C2, the media sheet will be
shrunk approximately 80% of the total shrinkage potential. Next,
the media sheet is routed from the media sheet output of printing
module C2 along the lower highway and re-circulated back along the
return highway 166. Subsequently, the media sheet is routed along
the upper highway to printing module K1 for black test printing
168. After the sheet passes through the black text image marking
engine K1, the sheet will be shrunk approximately 90% of the total
shrinkage potential. Next, the sheet is routed through the custom
color printing module CC for logo printing 172. Total shrinkage of
the media sheet is approximately 100% of total shrinkage potential
after printing has been completed. In addition, the media sheet
only shrinks approximately 10% during the custom color logo marking
process. The net effect of this process is a reduction of
mis-registration error relative to the images printed on the media
sheet. Subsequent to image marking by printing module CC, the media
sheet is routed to the output transport module by the upper highway
and from the output transport module to the finisher module
172.
FIG. 9 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of this disclosure.
The embodiment includes fuser modules F1 180 and F2 182 in addition
to the integrated printing modules described with reference to FIG.
6.
Referencing FIG. 10, a detailed method of operating the embodiment
of FIG. 9 is described. FIG. 10 illustrates the flow chart of an
overlay printing job which includes black and a custom color logo.
The initial print job data is transmitted to the printing system by
a network, pc, cd or other computer readable media or device. The
job scheduler analyzes the image content of the incoming print job
to determine if multiple image marking engines are required 190 to
complete the print job. In this example, a black text document with
custom color is detected 192. Subsequently, the job scheduler
schedules 194 and allocates 196 a black text marking engine K1 and
a custom color marking engine CC to perform the simplex overlay
print job. The job scheduler next selects 198 unused fuser F2 for
preprinting or preshrinking passes. It is to be understood that the
job scheduler can select any unused printing module (i.e., marking
engine, fuser, etc.) to perform the preprinting passes. After the
job scheduler has allocated the proper printing modules to complete
the job, the media sheet feeder feeds 200 the required sheets into
the printing system. Sheets are routed through the input transport
module to the lower highway 202 which routes the media sheets to
fuser F2 for preprinting passes 204. After the media sheet has
passed through fuser F2, the media sheet will be shrunk
approximately 60% of the total shrinkage potential. Next, the media
sheet is routed from the media sheet output of the fuser module F2
along with return highway to the upper highway 206. Subsequently,
the media sheet is routed along the upper highway to printing
module K1 for black text printing 208. After the sheet passes
through the black text image marking engine K1, the sheet will be
shrunk approximately 80% of the total shrinkage potential. Next,
the sheet is routed through the custom color printing module CC for
logo printing 210. Total shrinkage of the media sheet is
approximately 90% of total shrinkage potential after printing has
been completed. In addition, the media sheet only shrinks
approximately 10% during the custom color logo marking process. The
net effect of the process described with reference to FIG. 10 is a
reduction of mis-registration error relative to the images printed
on the media sheet. Subsequent to image marking by printing module
CC the media sheet is routed to the output transport module by the
upper highway and from the output transport module to the finisher
module 212.
It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and
other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be
desirably combined into many other different systems or
applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or
unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or
improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in
the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following
claims.
* * * * *